Reviews with content warning for Cursing - Serpent & Dove

This one has been lingering on my shelves for years as a highly-praised gift book, so I'm glad I finally got to it.

YA "romantasy" is wayyy down the list of genres I gravitate towards, but I did find this enjoyable. The world-building is solid, and the characters are interesting. For me, the complexity of the novel is just right: it's not high high fantasy with a million characters and dynamics, but there is enough there for it to be satisfyingly fleshed-out. I'm even contemplating reading the next book in the series...

That said, I'm still rating based on my taste. This is definitely for a younger audience, and it shows in how some of the relationships develop (including the primary romantic one, in which a switch just seems to flick between one chapter and the next). Some of the writing is clumsy or overly descriptive in a gauche way.

I had fun, though! And I hardly ever read physical books over 400 pages, so that's a big win.

Content Warnings

platypusd10's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional funny mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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kijatai's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I enjoyed it. The world building was good and the main character was interesting. I preferred the story towards the end. I won’t spoil but this is where I could finally feel what the characters were experiencing and I started rooting for them. I actually liked the change of the scenery.

I just recently started reading again and it’s been hard to get out of my reading slump but this book was easy to read for me and it was nice to just immersed myself in the story. The moment I could see myself pausing, something happened that hooked me back in.

On the other end, I guess I didn’t really like the heteronormative dynamics. There are depictions of violence against women. And graphic images of violence in general. So be aware to read these on your own terms. But I knew all that before hand. It’s a book about an arranged marriage between a man in a woman in a religious context where they are hunting witches. Just be sure to check the trigger warnings first. And the reason for them to be married is… questionable. Even though it’s explained more later on.

There are representations of relationships between women though. I just hope in the next book it will be explored more.

I liked the magic as well in this world.

I’m actually wondering how things will develop in the next book and if we will be able to see more on the side of the witches. I was honestly more interested in the political intrigue than the romance itself. Even if it was a great love story with all the tropes (guilty pleasures) that I enjoyed (the tall man that will do anything to protect his love for example).

In all, I had a nice time reading it on my kobo in my bed with my cats on a snowy snd stormy night. It felt like I was in the world itself since it’s set in Winter.

*about the content warnings
These are mentioned and described. The main characters are loving and caring to each other. it’s just the world around them and what happened to them that are ugly and triggering.

Content Warnings

natescobar's review against another edition

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challenging slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

Only one POC character, it’s like reading Fanfiction, constantly mentions male leads size and looks, unnecessary sex scene, and absolutely painful to read.

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corine's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny relaxing fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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imaginationindex's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

“Two years ago, Louise le Blanc fled her coven and took shelter in the city of Cesarine, forsaking all magic and living off whatever she could steal. There, witches like Lou are hunted. They are feared. And they are burned.

Sworn to the Church as a Chasseur, Reid Diggory has lived his life by one principle: thou shalt not suffer a witch to live. His path was never meant to cross with Lou's, but a wicked stunt forces them into an impossible union—holy matrimony.”

What I Loved:

Enemies-to-Lovers paired with a marriage of convenience with a sprinkling of sharing-one-bed and “that’s my wife”… 🙌🏻
I loved the two secs of witches, Dames Rouges and Dames Blanches. I’m curious to learn more about the Blood Magic as well as
how Reid was able to do magic when we should have been dying 😅
Ansel, you sweet boy! Coco, what a badass! I like how we flipped the script on traditional gender roles
This is a perfect example of new adult stories; our characters are adults who can make their own decisions and swear.

What can burn (this seems very aggressive but I was going for a theme 🧙‍♀️🔮✨)

While the fantasy world was a total vibe, there are some moments where the religion aspect of the anti-witch stance gets to be a bit much. That might just be me but the Archbishop needed to relax 95% of the book
I noticed a lot of re-explaining and telling. I get that we had the dual POV and catch up might have been needed, but I thought it was clearly shown so we could have saved ourselves a few pages.
Genuine question, when were we? The France inspired world was cool but we had swords and monarchy, but full theatres and working bathrooms

The building of tension was well paced and I will be continuing with the series with Blood and Honey up next ✨🩸🍯✨

Content Warnings

melissafelicia's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I really enjoyed this story. I liked the vibe of the world, a sort of Renaissance French witches vs religious witch hunters story. I disliked the male mc at first but as his character developed, he started growing on me. The main plot was a bit predictable, but there were still some plot twists I didn't see coming. I'm curious about the rest of the series!

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